Hi Sparky,

Your right, the Ugly Stiks do come in different sizes and the new ARFs seem to be built stronger and lighter than the old ones - they will get you into the air quickly. In my opinion, it would be an excellent choice if you have had flying time in the past. They have good low speed characteristics and will stunt as you progress.

You may want to consider asking around your club and see if anyone has one and ask for some "stick time" on a buddy box, someone may even have one for sale - they are very popular.

Also you may want to check www.spadtothebone.com they have free plans to make some up out of coroplast (plastic sign material used in elections etc.). The SPAD's (Simple Plastic Aiplane Design) are very tough, but a little heavy.

If you want to get an ARF, check the following links:

http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpma1220.html

http://horizon.hobbyshopnow.com/prod...675&pc=HAN1675

http://horizon.hobbyshopnow.com/prod...700&pc=HAN1700

There are more out there but I just did a quick search.

I've been using the 2 stroke GMS engines for my fun planes, they are very "tight" engines with a lot of power on 10% or 15% fuel (I always use castrol blend in my fuel) and the newer ones are easy to set up. Besides that, they are cheap!!!

Hope this helps.

Fly4Fun,

Wayne Miller